paunch
/pɔːnt͡ʃ/
"paunch" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“paunch” is an uncommon English word, ranked #92,983 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #92,983
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The first compartment of the stomach of a ruminant, the rumen.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | paunch |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɔːnt͡ʃ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #92,983 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “paunch” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for paunch is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɔːnt͡ʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #92,983 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
paunch doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English paunche, from Old Northern French panche, Old French pance (French panse), from Latin pantex. The correct English form is paunch, spelled P-A-U-N-C-H.
Definition
- 1The first compartment of the stomach of a ruminant, the rumen.
- 2The contents of this stomach in a slaughtered animal, viewed as food or a byproduct.
- 3The belly of a human, especially a large, fat protruding one.
- 4A paunch mat.
- 5The thickened rim of a bell, struck by the clapper.
Etymology
From Middle English paunche, from Old Northern French panche, Old French pance (French panse), from Latin pantex.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "paunch"?
What does "paunch" mean?
How do you pronounce "paunch"?
What is the origin of the word "paunch"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “paunch”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-U-N-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɔːnt͡ʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.